Vehicle seat



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INVENTOR PHILJP cARLsoN ATTORNEY Patented May 11, 1943 UNITED STATESPATENT OFF-ICE VEHICLE SEAT P lip Carlson, Long Hill, Conn.

Application November 10, 1939, Serial No. 303,770

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in vehicle seatsand has particular relation to an improved drivers seat especiallyadapted for use in package delivery trucks.

An object of the invention is to provide in a delivery truck including apair of opposite side doors, a low step at the inner side of each suchdoor, and a fiat platform like floor space in a plane above and locatedbetween such steps, whereby a driver entering each door may readilymount to said platform like floor portion to gain access to the truckbody in the rear of said portion, a drivers seat shiftable between aposition for use wherein itpartly blocks one of said doorways andprevents the use thereof in the manner described and a positionsubstantially entirely forwardly of said doorway and more or less underthe steering wheel and column and over the control pedals of thevehicle.

Another object is to provide in a package delivery vehicle a driversseat including a supporting column, a seat on said column, a backfoldable over said seat, means of pivoting said column for swingingmovement whereby the seat may be moved from a position ready for use toa folded or inoperative position, and bracket means associated with saidcolumn and positively limiting swinging movement thereof.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the inventionis shown. However, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the details disclosed but includes all such variations andmodifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scopeof the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is the side elevation view showing the forward portion of a truckequipped with a drivers seat made in accordance with the invention, theseat being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is the perspective view showing the interior of the front truckbody portion and showing the drivers seat in its folded out-of-thewayposition;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the seat showing indotted lines the folded position thereof;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of the seat;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view showing the adjustable mounting of theseat proper on the supporting column;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevational view of a looking boltfor securing theseat in adjusted relation to the column; and

Fig. '7 is a detail, in elevation, of the supporting bracket. 7

Referring in detail to the drawing my improved seat, generallydesignated in, is mounted in a truck body generally designated II aportion of which is shown. Body H is of the general type disclosed in myPatents 2,116,666 of May 10, 1938, and 2,165,452 of July 11, 1939, andincludes-opposite sidedoor openings l2 and I3 adapted to be closed bysliding doors l4. Immediately inwardly of said doors are comparativelylow steps I5 and I6 between which is a platform like fioorportion l1located'in a plane above that of the steps and in fact comprising anextension of the floor l8 of the truck body.

Obviously with this arrangement the driver or other attendant mayreadily enter the truck body from either side thereof and move along theplatform -|l to the load carrying fioor portion. I8. Forwardly of thestep l6 and a portion of the platform I! is an inclined footboard I9mounting the usual foot pedals as thebrake, clutch and accelerator.Preferably the gear shift lever (not shown) is located as usual on thesteering wheel or column 20. I

My improved seat Ill includes a supporting column 2| on the upper end ofwhich is -a seat cushion 22 and the back rest 23 which parts are mountedon the column in a manner to be described. Between the step l6 and theplatform I1 is a vertical wall 24 and closing the front end of the stepi sa vertical wall 25. A U-shaped bracket 26 is secured to the wall 24and the forward inner corner portion of the step l6 as by bolts 21 and28 respectively. Mounted by the arms of such bracket is a bolt 29 onwhich the lower end of the column 2| is pivotally supported. The innerend of the bolt is threaded into the inner bracket arm.

A second bracket 30 is secured to the upper forward portion of the wall24 and to the upper portion of the wall 25 by screws or bolts 3| and 32respectively. Bracket 30 is provided with a slot 33 through which theseat supporting column 2| passes. Obviously the ends of the slot 33 willpositively limit swinging movement of column 2| on stud 29.

On the upper end of column 2| is a hollow bowl shaped casting or head 34having a lateral flange 35 at each of its sides and which flange isreceived at opposite sides of the bowl in guideways provided byelongated strips 36 secured on the under side of a base or plate 31supporting the seat cushion 22. Spacers 38 cooperate with the strips 36in providing the guideways for the flanges 35 and thus provide space fora perforated keeper plate 39 secured to the underside of the base 31.

A look bolt 40 is adapted to engage any of the openings in keeper 39four openings being shown in such keeper in Fig. 4. Obviously the numberof openings is immaterial. A housing 4! carries the bolt 40 and issecured to the head 34, as in Fig. 2, and the bolt passes through thehead. Secured to the bolt and projecting through the lower end of thehousing 4| is a threaded member 42 the lower end of which is bent uponitself to provide an enlarged finger piece 43.

Within the housing about member 42 and bearing against the housing andagainst a head-like portion 44 of the bolt is a coil spring 45. Thisspring constantly tends to keep the bolt in projected position and itwill be clear that on the bolt being wilthdrawn by a pull on the fingerpiece 43 the bolt is disengaged from the keeper 39. Thereafter the seatmay be shifted backwardly r forwardly on the head 34 whereby to disposethe driver closer to or further from the steering wheel 20. Thereafterthe bolt is re leased and the spring projects it to engage in theselected opening in the keeper 39 whereby to secure the seat in thedesired adjusted relation to the column or upright 2 I.

Back rest 23 includes arm portions or side portions 46 pivoted at 41 touprights 48 supported from the seat base 31. With this arrangement itwill be apparent that said back rest may readily be swung from theextended useful position shown by the full lines in Fig. 3 to the foldedor dotted line position in said figure wherein the said back rest isdisposed on or very slightly above the cushion 22.

With the construction disclosed when the driver is occupying the vehiclethe seat is located as in Fig. 1 or as in the full line position of Fig.3. The seat cushion and the back rest are adjustable together forwardlyor rearwardly with respect to the column 2| by manipulation of the seaton withdrawal of the bolt 40 as above described. After the desiredadjustment is made bolt 40 is again engaged in one of the openings inthe keeper 39.

When the driver wishes to enter the body of the vehicle from the leftside thereof (that is by using the step I 6) he pushes the back rest 23to the dotted line position of Fig. 3 (that is on to the seat cushion22) and then by giving the seat a forward push swings the whole seat tothe dotted line position of Fig. 3 which is the same as the position ofthe seat in Fig. 2. That is the seat is swung to an out-of-the-wayposition under the steering wheel 20 and over and spaced above the footboard IS. The ends of the slot 33 of the bracket 30 limit such swingingmovement of the seat.

From an inspection of the drawing it will be apparent that when the seatis in the described out-of-the-way or folded position a person mayreadily enter upon the platform H from either sidedoor opening I2 andI3. When the seat is in the described forward position both dooropenings are clear of obstruction and a person may readily pass throughthe vehicle from one side to the other over the platform l1. It will beclear from an inspection of the drawing that when the back rest 23 is infolded position it will clear the steering wheel 20 as the seat is movedor swung to the described out-of-the-way position.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

In a package delivery truck, a truck body having a side door opening, alow step immediately inwardly of said opening, a platform immediatelyinwardly of said step and in a plane above the same, a footboardextending forwardly from the forward edge of said platform and step in aplane above the step, a vertical wall between the forward edge of thestep and the rear edge of said footboard, a vertical wall at rightangles to said vertical wall and between the inner edge of said step andthe edge of the platform toward said door opening, a U-shaped bracket,means securing the connecting portion of said bracket against said steptoward the forward end thereof and immediately adjacent the secondmentioned wall, means securing an arm of said bracket to the secondmentioned wall, a horizontal pivot supported by the arms of saidbracket, a driver's seat including an upright having its lower endmounted on said pivot for swinging movements between a rearwardlyinclining position of use substantially blocking said door opening and aforwardly inclining out of the way position over said footboard, asecond bracket abutting at its forward end against the first mentionedwall and extending along a portion of the upper edge of the secondmentioned wall, means securing said second bracket to each of saidWalls, said second bracket having a closed ended forwardly andrearwardly extending slot therethrough, and said upright passing throughsaid slot and partially supported in its position of use by the bracketportion defining the rear end of said slot.

PHILIP CARLSON.

